Monday, September 26, 2016

Mission XP - 26 September 2016 Final email of his mission

This letter will be very short. Nowhere near what I'd like since I normally love sharing miracles in detail. Last night we went to bed early so we could wake up earlier this morning for extra meetings. 
Sunday was amazing. We went to Mission Prep at 7:00. I sang Rock of Ages and Elder Costa played the piano at at 9:00 Sacrament meeting. We taught junior primary at 10:25. Then we practiced for another special musical number right after that. We taught junior primary at 11:25. I played piano and played a duet with Elder Costa as he played violin in a 12:25 class. I played piano, Elder Costa played violin, and a less active lady played the
other violin for "The Lord is My Shepherd" in a 1:00 sacrament meeting. So that was our day and it was amazing and we have been busy all day but wow the spirit has been amazing. I wanted to leave my last Sunday with a BANG and I feel it was great!

Normally I would say I hope I don't leave Elder Costa for transfers because I have so much to learn from him... he is amazing...but it won't change transfers so all I can do is take with me what he has taught me and continue to apply it as well as everything else I've learned.

I read "Jesus: The Perfect Leader Today" I think the "our potential" section stood out to me the most. I know I have a lot I just have to continue to improve my prformance even just a little bit. This, of coarse, will happen as I continue to study my scriptures, ready to learn something, pray, and go to church.
Of coarse I invite all of you to do these things to even though they seem simple and small but honestly the first thing we tend to stop doing is reading every single day. Once we stop doing one thing it is so easy to stop doing the rest of them...don't let this happen. Keep your testimony strong! Keep your faith growing! I love each of you.
Have an amazingly wonderfuly awesome week!

Elder Kremer
(\(^~^)/)

Mission XP - 19 September 2-16

Here it is! Finally feeling like I"m sprinting. We started this transfer off strong with a baptism and several lessons and the last couple weeks have not been to hot. But Saturday...Saturday was a tender mercy of the Lord and it was amazing. We went to a house this evening, we thought it was a family with a Spanish last name but it ended up being a house full of Y.S.A. One guy was on the porch smoking and I didn't even see him till we were almost at the door because it was dark but then I saw the light from the cigarette. He said hey. He was super friendly and we talked for a bit. Then I started to do the 4 minute restoration (he was a non member, Catholic but not active) and I got through the first 2 principles but then two other people walked out of the house and started talking to us and asked us where we were from and stuff and I was like nooooo we were so close :) I kinda
chuckled in my head. But the guy that came out was a less active who is dating a non member gal. He is less active but he know the ordinances done in the church are true and when we asked if we could come by he said yes he would love it. He wants his girlfriend to take the lessons. I was so happy. Also, sad because they are Y.S.A. but I don't care because I know we were where the Lord needed us to find him. And he is ready and I feel the other guy will be receptive. And I was very happy too because Elder Bowen is the Y.S.A. over him and he is an amazing missionary and so is Elder Owens. And we went to a bbq one ward through tonight and thier was an 18 yr old from Tennessee (near where im from in Tennessee) who just so happens to be here for one more week visiting his active grandparents. He isn't a member because his parent are inactive. He is actually Baptist. But what are the chances that we met tonight. Not coincidence I promise you that. And we hit it off great...he's redneck ;) which is home for me. So when I get home were gonna hangout and go hunting or something awesome. He is a great guy and I'm excited to have to opprotunity to have a chance to share the gospel with him when I get home! And finnally  their was another very special expirience tonight with another less active man who I, for a reason I dont know yet, have a surprising amount of love for and desire to help. We went to stop by this less active guys house to talk to his non member son. We ended up talking to the father the whole time because his son wasn't home. I'd talked to the father before just once. This was the best part of the night. We talked for a good 20 minutes and he asked sincere questions about after we die. We talked about desire, the eternal principle of repentence, and the infinite atonement and what the infinite part means for us. All my
answers were directed by the spirit...I could feel this.


Elder Costa and I are doing great! I love him. He is helping me sprint and he is helping me in ways he doesn't even know. I am so grateful to have him as my companion my last transfer. I know he will do great. The thing is I've tried to help him understand that even though he is junior companion thier is no diffrence in between us, as
in, he can say whats on his mind that we can improve or where he thinks we should go. But he is amazing. I know he will be good as a senior companion. He has amazing ideas that I don't even think of sometimes that I should, having been out for two years. Anyway, those are the things I've noticed.  I've been learning a lot reading from the new testimant. One thing imparticular that I've shared with my district is when Satan is  tempting Jesus. He tells him to jump off the building, that he can call angels to catch him, and he says no you shouldn't tempt god. Then he goes to the top of the mountains and there also satan tempts him with the kingdoms if he worships him. In these verses it reads, 


10. then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Now I understand through J.S.T and a talk from Elder Bednar that ministered unto him was Jesus turning outward yet again and sending angels to minister unto John but I thought of that after my initial thoughts which were how I found it interesting refering to a scripture that says, "you shall receive a witness after the trial of your faith" that after Jesus said get thee hence Satan (and keep in mind these were pretty big trials/temptation that Jesus still had to overcome) that angels came and ministered unto him. At the time, and I still like thinking of it like this, I realized in this instance and I'm sure I'll see others too, Jesus also had to act with faith first then receive a witness of certain things. This stuck out so powerfully to me as a missionary in the situation we have been in of kind of a "drout" in our teaching pool just how important diligence and exact obedience is. And Saturday we witnessed that for sure and I know we will continue to have a witness of that.

I love you all 😊
Elder Kremer
(\(^~^)/)

Mission XP - 12 September 2016


So I am sorry I didn't email last week. Tuesday was our preparation day because we went to the temple!!! Which is awesome because I get to go again in a week and a half! Haven't had that since the m.t.c😆
Last Monday we got to participate in something called a temple run. Lols yes I realize that is a game on a phone but that is not what we did. We ran 5 miles from the Ocquirr Mountain Temple to...somewhere else. It was loads of fun. I saw about every missionary I know who is still on thier mission and I saw several of my old companions. And I saw a couple people from previous areas! SISTER HERMANSON!!ELDER BLOCK!!...and others...sorry this is two weeks ago so I can't remember everyone I saw. Anyway once we were done we stayed and talked for a bit Sister Lansing (Mission President's wife) was waiting at the end and taking pictures of all the missionaries when they finished, and then we saw President Lansing run around the corner and a lot of missionaries ran to him to finish with him and then, right out of a classic comedy, he fell just before getting to the finish line. First we made sure he was ok then we laughed a little bit.

Tuesday was preperation day and it was busy but something super exciting happened. We went to a Walmart that is away from our area because we were going to Ross so I could get new shoes and we were in the check out line and I glanced to my right (I've had a couple times when I see someone a recognize but I can't for the life of me remember which stake they were in that I served in but their name... I also usually cant remember) but this time it took me no time to realize that Brother Richeson from my home ward in Tennessee was standing thier! It made my day! It was so good to see him 😱🤗 but it was a little hard cause I couldnt talk very long and share stories cause I knew my comp wanted to do stuff and I wasn't about to talk about home lol but it was
really nice to see a friend of the family. We also went to the temple which is where I learned my temple recommend card had expired...I wouldn't have minded too much because I knew I was foing to the temple again in a week and a half anyway but my companion wouldn't be able to go again for another 3 months. They couldn't contact my Mission President but it all worked out in the end 😉

Wednesday we had an amazing Zone Conference that motivated me alot. And I didn't have to conduct a district meeting! Haha

Thursday and Friday were both full of trying to contact people but not much happened

Saturday my companion went to a Brazilian party all day.

Sunday we went to a Regional Conference wow it was amazing! The third talk was all about missionary work with members and the fourth one somewhat chastised Utah? But it also had alot of love in it. The missionary talk focused on sisters for about five minutes that was super cool cause sisters are awesome!

This was a good week. We went out with Elder Woolums earlier this week and we stopped by a name one of the Bishops had given him of a part member family. So we stopped by and the wife(member) and her daughter
were outside. We talked to them for a little and asked if her husband was home. She said yes then went in the house and asked if he wanted to meet with us and he said sure. We got to know him for a couple minutes but the game was going to be on soon so we shared a brief message about the plan of salvation with him. Testified. Then invited them to read drom the Book of Mormon until our next visit(next week). It was an uplifting opportunity. I'm excited to comtinue teaching him.  Studies also went well. Even though I did not have to prepare for a District Meeting for Tuesday I was studying alot on the Atonement and I feel good about the activity I want to do with my District for District Meeting. I know it will uplift us :)
  
Elder costa is wonderful. He has been a little sad about not being able to express alot in english but today he got back from the Portuguese party/o.y.m opportunity and was so happy. He talked to so many people and it was mostly in Portuguese and he felt the spirit strong. We were in the car and he said to me (not in a pridefully
way), "Elder today I know I am a good missionary" that made me so happy because I've been trying to tell him that so I said,"I'm glad you can finally see that" I'm so happy for him, he will be so amazing in people lives. He already is but now he knows he can be.

Today we went on a district hike!

Monday, August 29, 2016

Mission XP - 29 August 2016

Goooood Morrrning

So to start off this week's letter, my companion Elder Costa is from Brazil! He has been in America for three of the five months he has been serving. He only started learning English 8 weeks ago and is doing pretty darn good. I have witnessed him give a blessing in perfect English and many other thing that testify to me how much he follows the spirit. I love my companion. He is inspiring and I have such a love for him and a desire for him to stay diligent and keep this passion and love he has for those around him. He has so much I know he wishes he could say to people and I want to help him, as best I can, express it better through words.

Monday was good...but very boring. We didn't do much. Ok I take that back we played ping pong and I have gotten good at that. Haha, it seems I also do horrible at the being of playing something but I gradually get better and better the more we play even in just one sitting. So my
companion saw how bad I was and he said in his broken English, "Elder do you want to play for real and if I win you give me something Batman" he smiled huge, then I said, "wait what do I get if I win?" He replied with a shrug. I laughed, "how about whoever wins gives the other person something Batman..." "Ok" he said. So we played to 15. Thank goodness I learned the rules to ping pong from the Hermansens! I won. He smiled and said "2 out of 3"..."ok" I won again by a little more (and keep in mind he is actually good, I think he made the deal cause he saw he was better than me and it would be an easy acquire of something Batman...but come on! I'm playing for something Batman no XD it's on) he told me, "Elder I do not get it...you are good now..why?"
It was so funny. So we ended up playing best out of five and in the end I won 3 and he won 2 but I'm not going to make him get me something Batman I was just playing for fun. We also had a lesson with Laina!

Tuesday was district meeting day...yay...~sarcasm~ <-- that, by the way, is not the culture in Brazil I guess. Elder Costa had to get used to that in America haha. He has been learning a lot from me. We had another lesson with Laina!

Wednesday was District Leader Training and it was good but I have a very strange mind that I'm trying to figure out why and what I've been learning is I am motivated to do something. I have plans. But if I get trained on doing something a similar way I was going to do it, I get less motivated to do it because I feel like the only reason I would do it is because I was told. So the meeting wasn't as uplifting for me but then I snapped back into a good missionary and focused again. I am learning more and more about me. But I feel I'm handling things a little better now. For sure I'm more organized as a district leader. My first week was chaotic. So many new things and people I have to remember. Who is serving in what areas. Who is on date to be baptized. Who is solid and projected. How I can motivate my distict and always give advice...let me tell you I don't think I have ever been good at comforting someone. I usually am the one who gets awkwardly quite and prays that the silence somehow helps the other person 😶 I'm learning how to do it now though hats for sure. Anyway this week I got my white board. I got my dry erase marker. And boy I was on that board with details. We got to teach an awesome man who is trying to come back to church again. He is living with his sister who...isn't anti but isn't not anti...I talked to him about President Uchtdorf's talk on a shower of heavenly blessings. It came to my mind after he said something specific. It was a great experience.

Thursday we did...actually I thing District Leader Training was today? I can't remember but I know that we went out with Ward Mission Leaders again and we weren't abe to talk to anyone until the very end. We got into his car and saw sombody walking up the street and I asked him if he knew them and he said he wasn't sure but he might. So we got out and talked to them it. It ended up being less actives and they let us in and we talked for a bit then shared a message. We got home around 9:15 and my split felt bad because we made my companion and his split wait but I told him don't worry about it this is the Lord's work and this was His appointment they will understand. And understood they did! But it was a cool miracle.

Friday...let's not talk about the long day that Friday was.

Saturday we were able to witness Laina Turnbull get baptized today!!! She was beeming! It was a wonderful experience for her and her family who are inactive. That's right. She is 10 and her parents are inactive but she had such a desire to get baptized she has been comming to church
on her own, reading, praying, she is just so amazing and such an example for her family. She will lead them back to the blessings that come from obeying Heavenly Father.

Sunday we went to Laina's confirmation. I spoke in that ward...my thanks goes out to the Bishop that gave me 17 hours heads up lol but it was still good. We should always have the gospel on the tip of our toungue. Then we went to Stake Conference. Then we used the rest of normal church time to try and find a new investigator.

My studies were very good this week. I found President Gordan B. Hinckley's book, "Stand a Little Taller". We used to read that everyday. And I love the quote at the very front, "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day"...simple but powerful as it taught me of the importance and eternal principle of repentance in another way. Our physical body will die. It will degrade. However it will be ressurected no matter what with the gift that will be given to all mankind. But our spirits will not have a resurrection, rather we are strengthening them as we access the Atonement not just when we make a huge mistake, not just when we take
the sacrament, but as we truly learn to access the Atonement daily and allow it to change us. This principle is as eternal as God's plan for families. At least, this is what I understand from what I've been feeling more as I've prayed.

I love you all.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Mission XP - 15 August 2016

Two weeks ago the awesome miracle that happened was that a ward mission leader and I went out on Wednesday. While we were out we stopped by a house of a lady who often took kids in under her wing who
had been rejected by society or who didn't have a home. She had helped over 8. Well, we were stopping by for a young man about 23 years old. I didn't know him at all but the ward mission leader did. We talked, we taught, it was a great lesson anyway, but the miracle was at the end. We offered to say a closing prayer before we left and the lady asked the ward mission leader to say it. During the prayer he paused slightly then blessed the home that it would be a place where the spirit could dwell and that it could be a place of healing. When he finished he looked up and said that that had never happened to him before. He explained that he had felt prompted two times while praying to dedicate the home but he didn't know if he could during a normal prayer then finally he was prompted a again to do it and so he did. The lady and the 23 year old both felt the spirit because they told us that they had been talking about getting the house blessed but they didn't know how or who to do it. The lady specifically said she wanted it to be a place of healing which are the exact words the ward mission leader used. I know heavenly father loves us. He does have a plan for each of us. He needs each of us to constantly be listening for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. More often than not I've found those promptings (whether or not we understand what we are being asked to do) will lead us to those in need in some way.

This week has also been good. Its been slow but we have seen miracles!

Monday we had a white elephant gift exchange. I almost got some early glasses but alas they were stolen from me :( also please forgive me for using narly I...I don't know what came over me

Tuesday was funn! We did a missionary mutual night with one of our Ward's and the Spanish Sisters were there too and we did this q&a type of deal. The sisters had to leave earlier so we were trying to let them answer as much as they could they answered awesomely and we taught from preach my gospel great. Alot of our answers came from that and personal experiences.

Wednesday and Thursday were both kinda long.

Friday we had lunch with the blocks again! And we broke into the churches with the sisters help...the have keys...for some reason we don't 🙄

Saturday we went to the Stake Center and the Sisters were there singing so we left. We tried to contact all day but it was slow. But we did have a last minute lesson with Kayla and Nick!

Sunday is pretty much were all out lessons and our investigator came from. So Sunday was a very busy day. So many lessons. This next week looks awesome though.

Today. This evening is booked with lessons and we will be meeting with two potentual investigators!

I love you allll so much have an awesome week I know I will🙃

Elder Kremer
(\(^~^)/)

Mission XP - 1 August 2016 (week of 28th Anniversary)

Good morning my friends!
   This week was awesome! It normally is.

Monday we had p-day. We played risk until two elders quit. Haha in their defence they were the only two who hadn't played before and they kinda didn't defend two well XD once they quit we didn't really have a game anymore so the whole zone played a couple games together. It was real fun. We were playing "I love my missionaries" it's a game were we all sit in chairs and someone stands in the middle. They say "I love my
missionaries" and if what they say next applies to you, you have to sit in a chair that's not near you then whoevers left standing does it again. It's fun. Oh and it was Sister King's birthday and Elder Jiminez's birthdays this week so an Elder got them a cake and then someone said for each of them to take a bite out of their's. I guess this is Spanish tradition because Elder Jiminez's head bobbed to the cake and away so fast you almost missed it but Sister King (called Spanish assignment) didn't know so she went I. For a bite...lol...and her companion pushed her face in the cake 😂 then we taught a recent convert.

Tuesday we went on exchanges after district meeting. I went with Elder Jiminez into his area. We were trying to find Spanish in one of the previous Stakes I served in but no sucess. I only knew English so we didn't stop by people I knew. We had three lessons and one was in complete Spanish but two understood English so I would teach in English and Elder Jiminez would teach in Spanish...it actually went rather well. This is for one family specific I'm sending this email to but since I was with a Spanish Elder we didn't really visit English members. And it was so hard when the first thing we did on exchanges was drive from Elder Jiminez's house off Redwood, turn right on 98th pass through not one but two Stakes I'd served in previously then turn right on..well I'll say no more but this might look familiar.

My first Stake 😆 and I still knew my way around it thanks to Elder Needs. It felt so good driving through!

Wednesday we were ending exchanges and Elder Jiminez was told me that he wanted this exchange to be to tell me to make sure I teach my companion everything I knew before I went home...so since he was kind enough to remind me how long I had left I let him know that he should hurry up too since he only has three very short weeks left 😜 haha   BOOM take that. We also went out with Ward Mission Leaders and with one of them we set up an appointment for thursday at 6.

Thursday our District Leader came to Candy's house to interview her for baptism. She is super excited. We also taught a new investigator!

Friday was awesome because we taught Candy and in the evening we went to Temple Square with a really cool family!

Saturday was amazing! Candy got baptized! She was so excited and in her own words she said it was so overwhelming. It was greater than any of us said it would be. And we also went to an open house for the
Stake President's daughter.

Sunday Candy got confirmed and Nick came to church with his wife which is going to be rare because she works every Sunday but it was still legit 😎

Monday, July 25, 2016

Mission XP - 25 July 2016 The day after Pioneer day

Hey yall!

So this week was a bit slower. We had a former investigator come to church two Sundays ago on her own but when we asked if we could stop by...she said no :( sad days. One day.

Monday was super funn! Elder Cady and I went and kinda just hung out with a super awesome guy for a good bit of the day. Then we went mini golfing with the district. First time ever going mini golfing and it was a BLAST! Half of us hit a golf ball into the water at one time or another lolz.

Tuesday was district meeting. It was fun. We laughed quite a bit more than normal but role-playing was really fun. Oh also we had to call the fire department because of an eletrical fire in the church building we originally went to. Wasn't worried though...how could you be when you've got 12 of the Lord's annointed in the same building. haha XD Then we went downtown. The last two weeks we've ridden tracts downtown and both times we've just had really cool conversations with people or we've been on tracts when someone needed us. I also met a guy who's nephew or son is serving in the Netherlands which is where a friend from my home ward is serving! So that was cool but still not as cool as this one time when I ran into a guy from my home ward building
who was in Utah for school and recognized my face from my missionary plaque 🙃 we also taught a recent convert and an investigator who is getting baptized on the 30th!!!!

Wednesday we had a slower day. We did teach someone trying to come back to the gospel. He asked us to teach about the eternal principle of repentance. I little but more in depth. But I felt that it ties in with eternal progression. So we taught that. Simple but sweet goodness.

Thursday we had interviews with our new Mission President. I talked to him first then his wife. That was fun. Side story..there is a Spanish Speaking Sister in our District who covers the Spanish Ward in our Stake and is from Memphis, TN. We always get people to dis where the other is from. I talked to a lady who was visiting with the sisters one night so I told her to just casually say Nashville was better. She had a whole week's worth of dinners text us and say Memphis was better. Anyway so at the end of talking to Sister Lansing I saw that the
Sister were next and so I asked if I could make a note on the paper she had with her and next to the Sister's name I wrote, "Say Memphis is ok but Nashville is better"...she did 😜 BOOM! I think I won 😇 we also had Jonathan's  baptisimal interview! Of course he did awesome because he is awesome!

Friday was also good but it was the beggining of a pretty stressful weekend. We had weekly planning for two hours. Lunch with our M.L.S. Missionary Couple. Then a lesson. Then we went back to our M.L.S. Missionary Couple' s house to make programs for Jonathan's baptism on the 23rd. I dont want to talk about that. Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway because that's what people do when they say "needless to say," but we arranged for the Ward Mission Leaders to take care of the programs from now on like every other stake I've served in does.
Honestly it just wastes time for us..anywho. We also made posters for the church buildings. I haven't had a companion who wanted to do that for ages. The CROWNING events were that we had a lesson with all three
of our investigators who are on date to be baptized!

Saturday we ate breakfast with the Stake President and his family, the Sisters (Spanish), and the Blocks (M.L.S. Missionary Couple). Then we prepared for our baptism at 1:00. Then we had our baptism at 1:00 ðŸ¤— then we went to a lesson that fell through. Then we lost our phone by leaving it in a members car. Then the car was gone all night so we couldn't get it. Then I got extremley stressed out because, well, missionaries without a cell phone is like (insert good analogy here) so you know how I felt. My poor companion. Anywho...

...Sunday was good also. Oh yea I forgot. On Friday when we met with nick (one of our investigators) we thought he'd fallen off date because he did't go to church two weeks ago...but he DID go! He went with his wife's mom to their church! Small awesome miracle. What else happened on Sunday? We had a lesson with Candy who is getting baptized on the 30th. It was going to be an interview but due to the lack of a communication device our district leader could not find us lol...stress...then at 2:20 we got our phone back! And had 11 missed messages but luckily none of them were of extreme importance.


And that was my week! I hope ya'll had an awesome eventfull week also!


Elder Kremer